pride's prejudice.

i wish there were as few thoughts in my head as degrees in the temperature outside right now, but my thoughts more accurately resemble the swirling snowflakes just beyond my window. fortunately, they sent us home early so that i can pound out some mental snowmen.
here goes…

today’s theme: pride.
(credit for this decision goes to Mr. John Piper, Clive Staples Lewis, & ultimately, Jesus Christ).

in absolute contrast to the cliché i looked into last year about this time (love, obvi), i figured it’s probably about time i reflect on pride. or, more so, set up an offensive against it.

pride is the exact opposite of love. it places self at the center & highest point, rather than honoring & looking to the needs of others above ourselves. today i began to grasp the extent to which pride gets in the way; it caused the devil to fall from the presence of God because he chose pride over the only One worth choosing. according to CS Lewis, “pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”

"In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God." - Psalm 10:4

pride is against others & against God.

i don’t think i had ever considered pride to be a huge struggle of my own, but something I read today challenged that: Lewis called to attention the fact that “each person’s pride is in competition with everyone else’s pride;” maybe the reason i’m so turned off by pride is the fact that it is just as much my own plank as another’s. unlike all other sins, pride can find a way to disguisedly weave itself into the midst of our quests to know God, & no one is holy enough to be excused from that threat but Christ Himself.

roughly 9 months ago, pastor John Piper announced his plan to take an 8 month leave from ministry. among his reasons for this hiatus, he cited a need to tend to pride in his life that was taking a toll on his relationships, especially his marriage. Piper stated that he wanted to “say to [his wife] that she is precious to [him]” & this was the best way it could be said.

i want the people in my life to know that they are precious to me.

the times when i am most aware of & repelled by pride in myself are in conversation: sometimes i just talk too much. pride misconstrues conversation into competition, & its prejudice blocks out understanding. hence, i plan to fast (or more ideally rid myself) from this conversational selfishness. by asking & listening more & offering less, i hope to emphasize (& better appreciate) the importance of others in my life. of course, i’ll still respond if someone asks me how my day was, etc, but i want what i say to be beneficial & encouraging versus just take up airtime. if i boast in anything, i want it to be in Jesus Christ & His grace in my life, & if i speak less, it will be for my benefit.

time to trade in lenses of comparison for compassion,

& efforts to succeed over others for strivings to serve them.

i apologize for being so personal; i typically aim to talk about more big-picture things, but aside from the application, hopefully this still falls into that category. here’s some armor, if you’re up for taking on this battle with me:

“So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” - 1 Corinthians 3:7

“He must become greater; I must become less.” – John 3:30

"Brothers & sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world & the despised things — & the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness & redemption. Therefore, as it is written: 'Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.'" - 1 Corinthians 1:26-31